On October 11, 2016, the Board of Supervisors held a public hearing to consider the initiation of a General Plan Amendment (GPA) study which would examine the possible removal of four Specific Plans from the General Plan. The four Specific Plan areas are located in Madison, Knights Landing, Elkhorn, and Covell. Following the hearing, the Board directed staff to proceed with the GPA study for three of the Specific Plan areas (Madison, Knights Landing, and Elkhorn) and to retain the Specific Plan for the Covell site.
On May 11, 2017, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed Specific Plan GPA. Following public testimony, the Planning Commission voted to recommend that the Board approve the GPA and rezoning to remove the three Specific Plans, plus the associated redesignation and rezoning of 17 individual properties from commercial to residential uses, and from light industrial to heavy industrial and highway commercial uses, within the town of Madison and the related text amendment to remove an historic structure from the General Plan list. The vote by the Commission was 6-0-1 (Dubin abstaining).
|
| BACKGROUND |
Since the General Plan was adopted in 2009, there have been changed circumstances that have affected the viability of the proposed Specific Plans, including recently adopted FEMA flood restrictions and a depressed real estate market that is only now recovering in unincorporated Yolo County.
Other than in Dunnigan, there has been no developer interest in proceeding with a Specific Plan. Most of the land that is designated for Specific Plans is in active intensive agricultural production. Some substantial agricultural investments have been made in the Specific Plan areas, and more can be anticipated. General Plan policies and zoning regulations governing what interim uses may be approved on lands designated as “Specific Plan” have restricted some proposals, and removing the Specific Plan requirements may assist some landowners in these areas. |
| |
Since the 2009 General Plan was adopted, there have been no plans submitted to the County to proceed with urban development in four of the five Specific Plan areas. Only one draft Specific Plan was prepared and submitted, for Dunnigan.
The application for the Dunnigan Specific Plan was withdrawn in early 2016 after the Board of Supervisors directed staff not to proceed with environmental analysis for that draft plan. In May 2016 the Board of Supervisors directed staff to remove all references to the Dunnigan Specific Plan from the 2030 Countywide General Plan and from the County Zoning Code. The Board adopted new General Plan designations and zoning for the Dunnigan area which reverted the Specific Plan area back to agricultural, on February 21, 2017. The Dunnigan Specific Plan was by far the largest (approximately 2,254 acres) and most ambitious (up to 8,100 housing units) of the five Specific Plans identified in the 2009 General Plan.
|
| PROJECT DESCRIPTION |
The three Specific Plan areas that are proposed for removal from the General Plan are located in Elkhorn, Knights Landing, and Madison. Each of the three Specific Plan areas is described in detail below under "Analysis." Also discussed are the 17 individual properties within the town of Madison that are proposed for redesignation and rezoning from commercial to residential use, and an associated General Plan text amendment to remove the Haines Store (29088 Main Street) from the Historic Resources list to allow its demolition for health and safety reasons.
The concept behind designation of the Specific Plan areas in the 2009 General Plan is to require that a comprehensive plan be required before any urban growth could occur in the five undeveloped locations. A key policy “encourages developers to show significant net benefit to the community” in each Specific Plan area, “to provide minimum quality of life services and sustainability standards” in each community, for existing and new residents.
For example, in Dunnigan, Knights Landing, and Madison, the “minimum quality of life services are defined in terms of providing grocery stores, schools, and fire and police protection." “Minimum sustainability standards for infrastructure” require that new growth provide new or upgraded water, tertiary-level wastewater treatment, drainage, and flood protection systems. Simply stated, the intent of the General plan policies that would allow Specific Plans to proceed in Dunnigan, Knights Landing, and Madison is to require that new growth raise the quality of services and life for the entire community, not just the new residents in the growth areas.
The current General Plan includes very detailed policies and development criteria that must be met in each growth area. For example, the criteria requires that each phase of planned communities meet a jobs/housing ratio of 1.2 jobs per household and a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) ratio of not more than 44 VMT per day per household. However, it should be noted that removing references to the Elkhorn, Knights Landing, and Madison Specific Plans does not preclude an applicant from applying for approval of a Specific Plan in any of the three areas (or any area in the unincorporated county). Policies and guidelines for processing and approving Specific Plans will remain in the General Plan and Zoning Code.
The Specific Plans General Plan Amendment will remove all references to the Elkhorn, Knights Landing, and Madison Specific Plans from the General Plan and the Zoning Ordinance documents. This action will replace the "Specific Plan" General Plan land use designation (abbreviated “SP” on the land use map) and the "Specific Plan" zoning (abbreviated “S-P”) for the approximately three dozen parcels planned for urban development in the three Specific Plan areas with an "Agriculture" (AG) designation and Intensive Agriculture (A-N) zoning. This would affect only the undeveloped agricultural properties that are currently zoned "Specific Plan."
The proposed action will also remove the “Specific Plan Overlay” designation and zoning that applies to several hundred individual parcels, already developed within the towns of Knights Landing and Madison. These properties will retain their existing underlying designation and base zoning which includes Low Density Residential, General or Highway Commercial, Industrial, etc. The only change will be to remove the overlaying “Specific Plan Overlay” General Plan designation (abbreviated SPO) and the zoning Specific Plan Zoning Overlay District (SP-O). A complete list of all properties that would be redesignated and rezoned is included in Attachment C.
The proposed action will delete all text references in the General Plan to the three Specific Plans. This will require revision of several policies, as well as background text, maps, and tables. The complete text of all revisions to the General Plan and Zoning Code is included in Attachment D.
Finally, an additional 14 parcels within the town of Madison are proposed for redesignation and rezoning from commercial to residential use, to reflect the existing homes on the properties. One of the parcels includes a vacant and dilapidated structure which is proposed to be removed from the General Plan historic list.
Two additional properties are proposed to be rezoned from the Light Industrial (I-L) zone to the Heavy Industrial (I-H) zone. These parcels were previously zoned Heavy Industrial prior to the 2014 Comprehensive Zoning Code Update. Lastly, one parcel, which fronts County Road 89 and State Route 16, is currently split-zoned Highway Commercial (C-H) and Light Industrial (I-L). The portion that fronts State Route 16 is proposed to be redesignated and rezoned from I-L to C-H, making the entire parcel C-H. These parcels are identified in the zoning maps in Attachment A.
Each of the three Specific Plan areas is described further below under "Analysis." The existing General Plan and zoning maps for each area are included in Attachment A. |
| ANALYSIS |
Each of the three Specific Plan areas is described below. The existing General Plan and zoning maps for each area are included in Attachment A.
Elkhorn Specific Plan Area
The Elkhorn area is located in eastern Yolo County where the Interstate 5 freeway bridge crosses the Sacramento River, 4.5 miles east of Woodland. The Specific Plan area includes 343 acres of agricultural land on the north and south side of I-5.
The current land uses in the area are intensive agriculture (tomatoes, sunflowers, and other crops), rural residences, an existing restaurant, and a newly constructed water intake plant for the Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency.
The Yolo 2030 Countywide General Plan includes two detailed policies related to the Elkhorn Specific Plan (which would be deleted).
Policy CC-3.16 states that “The goal for this location is a regional conference center and hotel facility, with appropriate general commercial development and industrial research and development uses, capitalizing on the existing natural amenities and riverfront. The Specific Plan shall emphasize aesthetic standards that recognize the importance of this site as the “visual gateway” to Yolo County along Interstate 5.”
Policy CC-3.17 identifies development capacities that shall guide development of the Elkhorn Specific Plan, which are illustrated in the Elkhorn Specific Plan Conceptual Sketch:
- 170 acres of Commercial (4,095 new jobs assumed)
- 130 acres of Industrial (1,354 new jobs assumed)
- High Density Residential uses for upper story units (range of units to be determined through the Specific Plan)
- 23 acres of Open Space uses
- 20 acres PQ (no new jobs assumed)
During the General Plan review process in 2007-2009, only one potential developer (Oates/Ramos) was ever identified who was interested in the development of the area. At the time, the City of Woodland expressed some reservations about the concept of creating a commercial conference center-type project at the location, since it would compete with the City’s plan for commercial growth in the downtown and on the east side of Woodland. The Elkhorn area was also remapped by FEMA to a flood zone in 2010.
It should be noted that the County of Sacramento has planned for significant commercial development around the Sacramento International Airport, which could also compete with similar uses being planned in the Elkhorn area. The 1,900 acre Metro Air Park project along the I-5 freeway east of the airport has long been planned as a primarily industrial development. The recession and a 2008 building moratorium in Natomas stalled various plans and proposals. However, the moratorium has been lifted and an 855,000-square-foot building in Metro Air Park is under construction, which will be occupied by a new Amazon fulfillment center. The owner of Metro Air Park is the Buzz Oates Group, which also owns 225 acres in the Elkhorn Specific Plan area.
Since the adoption of the County General Plan in 2009, there has been one notable development project that has moved forward in the Elkhorn area: the construction of the Woodland-Davis Clean Water intake plant. The project, located on the Sacramento River north of the I-5 bridge, is a jointly-owned and operated intake by the Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency in partnership with Reclamation District 2035. The raw water pipelines connect the intake to a new regional water treatment plant in Woodland, and separate pipelines deliver treated water to Woodland, Davis and UC Davis.
Another landowner within the Specific Plan area wishes to proceed with a project and is constrained by the existing S-P zoning. The Sierra Northern Railroad operates the Sacramento River Train along a rail line from West Sacramento to Woodland. The owner has approached staff about the possibility of developing a boarding station and other amenities for its customers at its property in Elkhorn. These improvements would be difficult to approve unless the Specific Plan zoning is modified or removed.
The restaurant in the area formerly known as Elkhorn Station (designated as Specific Plan Overlay, S-PO, not S-P) continues to operate as the Elkhorn Saloon under new ownership.
The proposed GPA would redesignate all of the land in the area from Specific Plan to Agriculture, except that a Public/Quasi-public designation would apply to the Woodland-Davis Clean Water intake plant. The existing restaurant would continue to be designated and zoned for commercial use, as it is now.
Following the Planning Commission hearing, the staff met with Dan Ramos, whose company (Ramco Enterprises), is one of the owners of the Wilson Ranch (225 acres south of I-5) along with the Buzz Oates Group. Mr. Ramos was concerned that the removal of the Specific Plan designation would make it much more difficult to eventually develop the Wilson Ranch property with some form of mixed uses, following resolution of the difficult flood issues in the area. Staff explained that the owner would still have the right to petition the County in the future to consider development of the property, without the necessity of preparing a comprehensive Specific Plan for the entire Elhorn area, both north and south of I-5.
Staff has also discussed the issue with the operator of the Sacramento River Train, the Sierra Northern Railroad. The railroad has purchased a 5 acre property along the Sacramento River, immediately south of the Woodland-Davis Clean Water intake plant. The company wishes to proceed with development plans to construct a new train unloading platform on the property. Removal of the Specific Plan designation on the property should make those plans easier to accomplish.
Knights Landing Specific Plan Area
Knights Landing is a small unincorporated town of approximately 1,000 residents, located along State Route 113 along the Sacramento River in northern Yolo County, 6 miles north of Woodland. The Specific Plan area includes 212 acres of agricultural land located east of the existing town. The town is served by a public water and sewer system.
Current land uses in the area include the existing town (primarily single family homes, commercial, industrial, and public uses, etc.) surrounded by intensive agriculture and rural residences.
There has been no recent development in the town except for the Rivers Edge project, whose developer completed construction of 23 homes of the 63-lot approved subdivision, before the new FEMA flood restrictions (which require elevation of new homes) took effect in 2010.
The Yolo 2030 Countywide General Plan includes two detailed policies related to the Knights Landing Specific Plan.
Policy CC-3.12 states: “Ensure that the downtown area remains the community’s primary commercial center,” require 100-year flood protection for all development within the growth boundary, and “Emphasize the use of waterfront land for public access and amenities, as well as tourism and entertainment-related commercial activities.”
Policy CC-3.13 identifies development capacities that shall guide development of the Knights Landing Specific Plan, which are illustrated in the Knights Landing Specific Plan Conceptual Sketch (Attachment B):
- 38 acres of job producing commercial and industrial land uses (assumes 532 existing jobs, no new jobs)
- 71 acres of residential uses in various densities allowing for 393 to 800 new units
- 103 acres of parks and open space uses
Note that a significant amount of residential growth could occur within the existing boundary of the town of Knights Landing, exclusive of whether a Specific Plan is ever adopted for the town. Under the designations and zoning set by the previous 1983 General Plan and re-affirmed in the 2009 General Plan, it is estimated that infill growth on vacant lands, including completion of two approved subdivisions, could reach almost 1,000 units.
At the time the General Plan was approved in late 2009, a major Sacramento-area homebuilder had acquired some of the land in the Specific Plan area east of the existing town. Most of the agricultural land within the Specific Plan is still owned by two long-time farm families, the Howalds and Edsons. However, members of the farm families have contacted staff over the months to express support for the proposal to remove the Specific Plan.
The major constraint to future development in Knights Landing is the need to construct costly levee improvements along the Sacramento River.
The proposed GPA would redesignate all of the land in the area from Specific Plan to Agriculture. The proposed action will also remove the “Specific Plan Overlay” designation and zoning that applies to several hundred individual parcels, already developed within the town of Knights Landing. These properties will retain their existing underlying designation and base zoning which includes Low Density Residential, General or Highway Commercial, Industrial, etc. The only change will be to remove the overlaying “Specific Plan Overlay” General Plan designation (abbreviated SPO) and the zoning Specific Plan Zoning Overlay District (SP-O).
This General Plan Amendment will not revise any of the policies in the existing 1999 Knights Landing Community Plan. That Community Plan would remain in effect.
Madison Specific Plan Area
Madison is a small unincorporated town of approximately 400 residents, located along State Route 16 west of the I-505 freeway, 9.5 miles west of Woodland. The Specific Plan area includes 413 acres of agricultural land which is wrapped around three sides of the existing town. An additional 14 parcels in the town of Madison are proposed for redesignation and rezoning from commercial to residential use. One of the parcels includes a dilapidated structure which is proposed to be removed from the General Plan historic list. Two additional properties are proposed to be rezoned from the Light Industrial (I-L) zone to the Heavy Industrial (I-H) zone, and one property, currently split zoned I-L and C-H, is proposed to be entirely rezoned to C-H, to better reflect existing uses.
The current land uses include the existing town (primarily single family homes, commercial, industrial, and public uses, etc.) surrounded by intensive agriculture. There has been no recent development in the areas, except for the planting of orchards on the agricultural lands west and south of the town.
During the period that the General Plan was being discussed in 2008-2009, a major Sacramento-area homebuilder had acquired land around the existing town of Madison. The original developer went into bankruptcy and the agricultural land on the west and south sides of the town (254 acres) was acquired by Bellevue North 250 LLC (Hostetler Ranches), a Los Banos-based agricultural land company that also develops residential subdivisions. Recently, Bellevue North sold most of the property to a Yuba City-based agricultural grower. The lands have been planted in permanent tree crops (pistachios).
Policy CC-3.14 in the General Plan states the following goals within the Madison Specific Plan growth boundary:
A. Policies to ensure the creation of a downtown area will be required.
B. The sewer ponds shall be moved and improved.
C. Workforce housing shall be the focus of the residential development.
D. Storm drainage impacts affecting the entire growth area shall be resolved. To address some of the existing needs in the community, infrastructure (drainage, sewer and water) services and facilities could benefit from a cooperative arrangement between the Madison and Esparto County Service Districts. Additional infrastructure improvements are to be gained through development agreements with recommended highway commercial development.
F. Existing conditions in this community are not acceptable. New development shall not proceed until, at minimum, the items in Table LU-11 have been addressed (or are reasonably expected to be addressed by the time such development is completed).
G. The need for intersection and roadway improvements on State Route 16 between Madison and I-505 shall be identified as part of the Madison Specific Plan consistent with the policy thresholds of the Draft General Plan.
H. Encourage the Madison CSD to explore the availability of Cache Creek water via the Flood Control District as an alternative source of municipal water.
Policy CC-3.15 identifies development capacities that shall guide development of the Madison Specific Plan, which are illustrated in the Madison Specific Plan Conceptual Sketch:
- 131 acres commercial (assumes 3,065 new jobs)
- 44 acres identified for agricultural industrial land uses (no new jobs assumed)
- 125 acres of residential uses in various densities allowing 630 to 1,335 new units
- 63 acres of parks and open space uses
- 50 acres public uses (20 new jobs assumed)
As in the other two Specific Plan areas, the major constraint to future development in Madison is flood protection, which requires a regional solution to protect the area from flooding from the nearby branches of Willow Slough.
The proposed GPA would redesignate all of the agricultural land in the area from Specific Plan to Agriculture. The proposed action will also remove the “Specific Plan Overlay” designation and zoning that applies to several hundred individual parcels, already developed within the town of Madison.
Additional Madison Parcels to be Redesignated and Rezoned
In addition to the actions related to the three Specific Plan areas, the scope of the General Plan Amendment includes 17 additional properties within the existing town of Madison. Fourteen of the properties are located in the 29000 block of Main and Archer Streets (outlined in red in Attachment A, Figure 7). The parcels are currently designated and zoned for commercial use. However, nine of the properties are occupied by single family homes, which is not consistent with the commercial General Plan designation and zoning. The other five properties are vacant (three parcels), one is occupied by a garage only, and the last is described below.
The parcel at the corner of Main and Railroad Streets is a dilapidated commercial building which has been "red-tagged" by the Building Division as an unsafe structure (see photo in Figure 8). The roof of the building has fallen in and the remainder of the structure is crumbling. This structure is known as the Haines Store (29088 Main St.) and is listed as a historic structure on the County-Recognized Historic Resources list in the General Plan. The action to redesignate and rezone the 14 parcels would also include an associated General Plan text amendment to remove the Haines Store from the Historic Resources list to allow its possible demolition sometime in the future for health and safety reasons.
Two additional properties located on the east side of County Road 89 are proposed to be rezoned from the Light Industrial (I-L) zone to the Heavy Industrial (I-H) zone (shown as light blue in Attachment A). The rezoning to Heavy Industrial is recommended to better reflect existing uses, and the rezoning has been requested by the landowners. The parcel fronting State Route 16 and County Road 89 is split-zoned I-L and C-H, and is proposed to be rezoned entirely to C-H.
This General Plan Amendment will not revise any of the policies in the existing 1974 Madison Community Plan. That Community Plan would remain in effect.
Following the Planning Commission hearing, the staff met with Leo Refsland, the director of the Madison Community Services District (and the owner of one of the properties proposed for rezoning from light to heavy industry). Mr. Refsland was concerned that the removal of the Specific Plan designation could detrimentally impact the ability of the CSD to finance needed improvements to the water and wastewater system in the future. This concern was also shared by members of the Madison Citizens Advisory Committee (see letters in Attachment D).
Staff explained that landowners in the area would still have the right to petition the County in the future to consider development of the properties adjacent to Madison, without the necessity of preparing a comprehensive Specific Plan for the entire Madison area, both east and west of the existing town. Given that the farmland east of the town has been recently sold to an agriculturalist, not developer, and that the land has been planted in a permanent tree crop, there seems to be little interest in future development. Mr. Refsland agreed that future development in the Specific Plan area seemed unlikely but he is still worried that the CSD will have a difficult time raising the funds to upgrade and repair the infrastructure in the very small town without more growth.
Anticipated Environmental Impacts
Removing the Specific Plan General Plan land use designations and zoning will result in a significant reduction in the projected amount of future growth in the Elkhorn, Knights Landing, and Madison areas. However, it should be noted that removing references to the Elkhorn, Knights Landing, and Madison Specific Plans does not preclude an applicant from applying for approval of a Specific Plan in any of the three areas (or any area in the unincorporated county). Policies and guidelines for processing and approving Specific Plans will remain in the General Plan and Zoning Code. However, removing all references to the Elkhorn, Knights Landing, and Madison Specific Plans means that there will be no detailed development standards for future plans, and a Specific Plan in any of the three areas may be more speculative and unlikely in the future.
Some of the anticipated environmental impacts due to deleting future growth that could have occurred under an adopted Elkhorn, Knights Landing, or Madison Specific Plan include the following:
- The Elkhorn area would continue as an agricultural area;
- The towns of Knights Landing and Madison would remain small unincorporated communities of approximately 1,000 residents and 400 residents, respectively, with continued growth of a limited amount of commercial and industrial uses;
- Approximately 968 acres of prime agricultural land would not be converted to urban uses; agriculture would remain the predominant industry in the three areas;
- Biological resources associated with the undeveloped agricultural land (habitat for Swainson’s hawk and other sensitive species, etc.) would not be lost to urban development;
- Increased traffic, air quality, noise, and climate change impacts caused by construction of up to 2,135 homes and 562 acres of non-residential (commercial, industrial, public) uses would be avoided;
- Up to 9,335 new commercial, industrial, and other types of jobs would not be created; and
- Improved public services (water, wastewater, drainage, schools, fire and police) for new and existing residents in the three areas would not occur.
These potential impacts are further described and analyzed in the Initial Study/Negative Declaration (IS/ND) that has been prepared for the project (Attachment E). The IS/ND was circulated for a 30-day period from Aril 10, 2017 through May 10, 2017. No comments to the analysis have been received to date.
Agency/Public Comments
As noted above, no agency comments have been received in response to the environmental analysis in the IS/ND.
Two of the citizens advisory committees (CACs) have reviewed the proposed GPA. The Esparto CAC had no comments. The Madison CAC supports the rezoning of the 17 individual properties within that town and also strongly urges the County to address the health and safety hazard to children and residents of the deteriorating Haines store building.
Over the last several months staff have received a handful of phone inquiries from individual property owners that would be affected by the GPA and rezoning. Most simply wanted a better understanding of how the GPA would affect their properties. All were in agreement when the action was explained in greater detail.
Staff have also discussed the situation of the Haines store building with the owner, Ms. Checa and her daughter. Both indicated that they would like to retain the commercial zoning of the parcel and that the family would like to either sell the property or build another store. |
|